Hezbollah Candidate Wins Backing for PM

68 members of Lebanon’s 128-seat parliament chose Najib Mikati as a replacement for acting Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Mr. Mikati has already served as prime minister of Lebanon in 2005. The change is significant as it cements Hezbollah’s rise to leadership of the small fragmented country.

In a show of defiance and rage at what they see as a coup d’etat, thousands of supporters for Mr. Hariri gathered in Tripoli to protest.

Protesters got out of control by attacking an Al Jazeera owned truck and setting it on fire. Demonstrators burned pictures of Mr. Mikati, the incoming Hezbollah backed PM.

Accusations have flown since Monday that Shiites were set to impose and Iranian form of religious control on the country’s Sunni and non Islamic poulous. Hariri has already stated he will not be a part of any government that is led by a Hezbollah-backed candidate.